Upgrading a Dell

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I was just wondering if it is possible to put a new motherboard in a Dell system. I have a dinosaur; Dell Dimension PII 350 which I have upgraded to 384 MB RAM. I would like to put in a motherboard that will support PIII and other new stuff. Please help.
 
You probably have a Bx chipset board, which may work with a katmai 600. I would go to Dell's website and see if any upgrades are available, or call them direct. My folks have a Dell with the pentium III 500, and I've wanted to upgrade it by changing the mobo, but then you can't use some of the Dell standard software. With a sloket adapter and bios upgrade, you should be able to use any of the 100 megahurtz ppga p3 cpu's, which are cheaper than socket 1. If you don't need the dell software, I would get a pc kit from pricewatch, which includes the case, power supply, cpu and heatsink, and transfer your hardrive, video card, etc. over to the new case. Check pricewatch and select you cpu speed.
 
"I was just wondering if it is possible to put a new motherboard in a Dell system"

I recently tried to do this. I got an ATX-size MB and tried to put it in my Dell Dimension mid-tower case but the input/output slots wouldn't allign with the opening in the case so I ended up buying a new case. That's probably what you'll have to do: they're very cheap so it shouldn't be a problem, - and a full tower one is much friendlier for future upgrades and general tinkering than the Dell one.

If you're thinking in terms of replacing a motherboard I'd say you know enough to put a new system together: forget about Dell. You can use the old hard drive, floppy drive, CD-ROM player, though you might need to get a new power supply (the one on my Dell P3 800 was 200w so I got a 370 one to power my new Athlon XP1700+ and new graphics card).

Finally, I'd recommend Athlons over Pentiums: they do the same job just as well and they're cheaper, - in my humble opinion.
 
You can put an ATX motherboard into a Dell with an ATX style case, but will have to replace the power supply and perhaps the backplate. That's what I had to do with mine. You may also be able to put a PIII 850 in it without changing the board, depending on the revision. Or better yet, skip all that and get the Tualatin Celeron 1200 kit from Powerleap with the iP3t adapter, the kit includes the card, CPU, and colling fan for only $169.

What's the frequency, Kenneth?
 
There are a number of threads relating to this. Here are the pertinent and useful websites:

<A HREF="http://www.csolutions.net/~dougm/images/dell/casemods.htm" target="_new">http://www.csolutions.net/~dougm/images/dell/casemods.htm</A>
<A HREF="http://roberthancock.netfirms.com/dell/" target="_new">http://roberthancock.netfirms.com/dell/</A>
<A HREF="http://delltalk.us.dell.com/" target="_new">http://delltalk.us.dell.com/</A>

I didn't upgrade the Dell since it just didn't make any sense in my situation (look up my posts if you're interested), but feel free to do it if you want. You'll need a new powersupply, the adapter for the power/restart buttons, and you'll have to punch out another com port from the back plate.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>
 
You will be able to slap a 1 Ghz secc2 PIII in your motherboard if you want btw (just flash the bios), but for the money I wouldn't. Either get a slower and much cheaper PIII or you might as well just buy a new motherboard like the ECS K7S5A along with an AMD processor.

It's up to you. It's easier to just stick a new processor in, but you'll net much more if you replace the motherboard, memory, powersupply, processor, etc...

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>
 
not replacing the HDD is convienient but unwise ..my guess is your old one is slow and at best a udma 33 one at 3400 rpms .. blow 120 bux US and get an IBM dtla 40 gb ata 100 7200 rpm unit ..it's worth the $

Lagger

<b><font color=blue>Computers run on smoke, I let the smoke out of mine and it quit working </b> </font color=blue>
 
You can upgrade anything if you put your mind and muscle into it. I would like to warn you that messing around with an OEM machine like Dell, Compaq, or Gateway can give you a massive headache. In example, if you want to use their modem or other pci device you might have to scrounge around for driver that will work with your new board or you most likely will have to buy new components. So I am not saying you can't do it but it could be a pain.

<b>All for one and one for all...and 3 for 5! - Curly - The Three Stooges</b> :lol:
 
not to mention, doing the upgrade yourself, will most likely void their warranty, which is one of the maing reasons for buying one of their systems.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-
 
Absolutely, you can upgrade your Dell mainboard. Dell has many spare parts for ugrades and you can also purchase them as refurbished, so it won't break the bank. Just go to http://support.dell.com, put in the service code from your computer and click on parts & accessories. Or just call them.

You can also build your own system if you want something newer, but most people aren't comfortable with servicing and supporting their own hardware. If you are technically challenged, then contact Dell about the upgrade. If you have some technical knowledge about computers and want to construct your own system......have fun! Stick with Intel stuff; more often than not you'll encounter less headaches and a broader range of support lies within.

remember, no matter where you go, there you are ;-)
 
Is there a good case you would recommend, especially for this motherboard?
 
First off, calling Dell and asking upgrade questions is futile. Don't bother. They only have a book in front of them that they are allowed to refer to. Forum's are much better since you'll be asking people who have actually done it. Besides that, I doubt you still have a warranty with them.

As far as a case, there is another section that deals with that. I bought the Antec SX1040. It might be a bit overkill, but I wanted a case that was roomy to work in, had no sharp edges, a 400W powersupply, good airflow, and plenty of room for expansion. I spent $130 USD, but the case and powersupply will last a while. The SX1030 is the same case with a 300W powersupply which will work fine for many systems, but I wanted the extra wattage so that I was 100% sure that I was getting enough power.

I've bought $25-$65 cases and they work, but they have horrible airflow and sharp edges everywhere. I didn't want to go that route anymore.

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>
 
I should note that when you decide on a case, keep in mind that one with good airflow doesn't require a lot of fans. That means less noise. Less noise means you won't throw the computer out the window.

:)

<font color=red>God</font color=red> <font color=blue>Bless</font color=blue> <font color=red>America!</font color=red>
 
> "<font color=green>...get the Tualatin Celeron 1200 kit from Powerleap...</font color=green>"

[re: ftn807] Should work this way, just check out first the list of compatibility for <A HREF="http://www.powerleap.com/Products/iP3T.htm" target="_new"> The PowerLeap™ PL-iP3/T™</A>,
<b>Confirmed to be Compatible</b>:
Dell Dimension V
Dell Dimension XPS-H
Dell Dimension XPS-T
Dell Dimension XPS-R <A HREF="http:// http://www.roberthancock.com/dell/plip3t/" target="_new"> (Read Review Here) </A>
 
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